An elderly woman was rescued by two young men after her ground floor council flat was set alight.

The 85-year-old, who walks with the aid of a frame, had to be lifted through her back bedroom window by the pair who had heard her cries for help.

The blaze broke out at her home on the Shanklin Estate, Brighton Road, Sutton shortly before midnight last Friday, after flammable liquid was poured through the letterbox and set alight.

The fire trigged a smoke alarm, installed less than a month earlier by Sutton fire officers during a routine home fire safety check.

Woken by the alarm the victim followed an escape plan explained to her during the safety check, testing her bedroom door for heat - and because it was hot keeping it shut to keep the flames and smoke out - and instead opened a window and called for help.

One of the young men climbed through the window to pick up the lady and passed her out to his friend.

The woman is now in respite car and said to be good health.

Police are treating the blaze as arson with intent to endanger life in what appears to be a motiveless attack on an elderly lady.

Anyone with information should call Sutton police on 020 8649 0740, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

For a free home fire safety check, which includes free smoke alarms, should call 08000 28 44 28.